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Midfield Selections and Battleground Will Shape Clasico Outcome
- Updated: December 2, 2016
The biggest club match in the world’s fixture calendar is upon us: El Clasico. Barcelona and Real Madrid will duel for the 233rd time on Saturday and bring us the latest installment of Luis Enrique vs. Zinedine Zidane, white vs. Blaugrana, and, of course, Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo.
The last time these two teams met at the Camp Nou, Zidane’s men claimed their 93rd Clasico victory courtesy of Karim Benzema and Ronaldo goals. It would spark an astonishing three-match home losing streak that placed Barca’s Liga title hopes in jeopardy, but five wins on the bounce to finish the season meant the title was secured on the final day.
Coming into this one, the table has most certainly been turned. Los Blancos are six points clear of their rivals, and a win here would stretch that to nine. Few leads are unassailable, but that’s a big gap.
Real Madrid remain unbeaten in all competitions this season and warmed up for this match with a 2-1 win over Sporting Gijon. A 3-0 demolition of neighbours Atletico Madrid not long in the past means confidence is soaring.
Barcelona, meanwhile, endured a frustrating evening at Anoeta this past weekend, as they once again failed to beat bogey team Real Sociedad. The respective teams’ forms really are markedly different.
Barcelona Team News
The positive news as far as Barca are concerned is that Andres Iniesta has been passed fit. Exactly how fit that is remains to be seen, but he’s eligible to play and will likely start.
Unfortunately, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba are both nursing knocks coming into this one. The pair missed the Copa del Rey tussle with Hercules on Wednesday, though they’re all hopeful of recovering and could feature.
Alba’s injury is a result of him powering on and playing hurt against Real Sociedad, which makes it all the more frustrating.
Jeremy Mathieu will miss the next two to three weeks, per ESPN FC’s Samuel Marsden, meaning back-up at both left-back and centre-back is lacking.
Real Madrid Team News
Real Madrid will be without long-term absentees Gareth Bale, Alvaro Morata and Toni Kroos for El Clasico, but they might be able to welcome one key figure back from injury.
Casemiro made his long-awaited return in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday evening, playing the full …
